【VG】Interview｜Kerbera Interview by Vkei-Guide

Seike: I don’t know why, but I really like going to Ikebukuro whenever I come to Japan. There’s just something about it.

Freddy: We’ve been staying in Shinjuku. That’s a great place.

2. What about your favorite food?

Dave: Takoyaki! I love takoyaki.

Freddy: We had some yakiniku the other that. That was really good.

Seike: I love squid. I really like ramen too, but I love squid.

Tawin: I like ramen with pork.

-What about you, Zave?

Seike: He’s really picky. He doesn’t really like Japanese food.

Zave: I would like it more if it were more…well done. I did like an ice cream place in Shinjuku, though.

3. Have you had any particularly interesting experiences in Japan so far?

Dave: Nomihoudai (all you can drink) is really interesting. In Sweden, one drink is the same price as a 2-hour nomihoudai. We drank a lot.

Tawin: The most interesting thing was when we were out the first day. We walked by this big building and it made so much noise when the doors opened.

Seike: It was pachinko.

Tawin: When we got inside, there were like 500 people in suits playing games.

Dave: They all had these trays with stacks of coins that were like 2m high.

Tawin: Also, we were outside the hotel earlier and there was this guy shouting at us. We had all of our gear with us. He had a soda and was listening to music, and suddenly went “WAAAH!”

Freddy: He tripped over one of our bags or something.

Seike: There was soda everywhere. (laughs)

4. Is there anything about Japan or Japanese culture that you want to learn more about?

Dave: The language, so I can understand what people say.

Seike: I’ve studied the language for quite a while, but I’ll come here, pick up some more of the language, then go home and lose it. That’s pretty annoying. So I’ll probably search for some Japanese courses when I get home. I don’t want to lose it again since I know I’m coming back.

Freddy: I want to learn about the yakuza culture, but I don’t know how that would go.

Seike: Yeah, it’s very taboo to talk about it.

5. What is it about Japan that appeals to you personally?

Tawin: The guys in suits.

Everyone: (laughs)

Dave: I love the culture. It’s so different from Sweden. People are very polite here. Often, people in Sweden are cold, but people are more warm and helpful.

Freddy: I guess you could say I’m partial to modern architecture, so I really like that aspect about a lot of major Japanese cities.

Seike: Yeah, a lot of buildings in Sweden look the same. That’s why we like it here so much. Everything is different. You can walk by one beautiful house, and then next to it will be a really old-fashioned house.

Freddy: It’s almost like there’s one architect for every building.

Zave: The nature is very beautiful as well. It’s very dense. I also like the older architecture, like the temples and shrines. I want to learn more about them and the history behind them.

Freddy: It’s too bad that we don’t have time to explore all this.

Seike: Next time. We’ll be back.

6. What are some things about Sweden (your home country) that you think are great?

Seike: The health care…

Zave: Free school…

Seike: …and the opportunities that we get. I think that people in Sweden, sadly, don’t fully appreciate it because they don’t travel much.

Zave: It’s so obvious to us because we grew up with it.

Freddy: The air is clean.

Dave: The water is also clean. Not just the tap water, but also the water in the city. You can actually drink it. The King of Sweden took a glass of water and drank from it to show everyone how clean it is.

Seike: Sweden is also very open-minded and we care about individuality.

Zave: I like that we have a lot of equality. We’re not perfect yet, though.